the lights from over 50 huge lantern
displays are drawing in the crowds.

0:00:25

0:00:31

Later I'll be exploring more of
these luminous works of art

0:00:33

0:00:36

and finding out what
the festival means

0:00:36

0:00:38

for the many Chinese Christians
here in the UK.

0:00:38

0:00:42

I'll be meeting a remarkable man
who's using fitness and faith

0:00:42

0:00:46

to fight his battle with cancer.

0:00:46

0:00:48

I guess you could describe me
as a fitness evangelist.

0:00:48

0:00:51

# More power to you

0:00:51

0:00:53

# Speak up and find your voice... #

0:00:53

0:00:56

And I'm going to be
meeting Stella Parton,

0:00:56

0:00:58

sister of the world-renowned
country singer Dolly.

0:00:58

0:01:01

We're going to be talking about
faith, family and music.

0:01:01

0:01:03

We've uplifting hymns
and a performance from

0:01:03

0:01:07

Alexander Armstrong
in a magnificent setting.

0:01:07

0:01:10

The British Chinese community
is the oldest of its kind
in Western Europe.

0:01:19

0:01:25

The first record of a Chinese person
in Britain was Shen Fu Tson,

0:01:27

0:01:31

a Jesuit scholar who came to
the court of King James II
in the 17th century.

0:01:31

0:01:37

Many of those that followed
were sailors who came here to
trade in tea, ceramics and silk.

0:01:41

0:01:46

And in an area of London
called Limehouse

0:01:49

0:01:51

they established the
very first European Chinatown.

0:01:51

0:01:56

And it's in London we begin
our Songs Of Praise

0:01:58

0:02:01

with our first hymn from the church

0:02:01

0:02:04

of St Martin-in-the-Fields
on Trafalgar Square.

0:02:04

0:02:07

Chinese New Year is also known
as the Spring Festival,

0:03:53

0:03:57

and its date is determined
by the lunar calendar.

0:03:57

0:04:00

So yesterday marked the beginning
of the Year Of The Rooster

0:04:02

0:04:06

and 15 days of festivities.

0:04:06

0:04:09

The celebrations traditionally
end with a beautiful display

0:04:09

0:04:12

of lanterns, and here in
the grounds of Chiswick House

0:04:12

0:04:16

that's being done on
a grand scale.

0:04:16

0:04:19

The festival's theme is the
Silk Road, an ancient route which

0:04:24

0:04:28

connected East and West through
an exchange of not just goods

0:04:28

0:04:32

but also architecture,
science, art and religion.

0:04:32

0:04:36

Earlier in the day I caught up
with Ian Xiang,

0:04:38

0:04:41

he's the brains behind
the lantern displays,

0:04:41

0:04:44

all pre-made in China and shipped
to the UK in 46 giant containers.

0:04:44

0:04:49

We have over 67 light boxes to
light up the whole festival.

0:04:50

0:04:56

As you can see the feature
behind me is 30 metres long,

0:04:56

0:05:00

15 metres tall, so it is
literally as high as a house.

0:05:00

0:05:05

So what was it like for you the
first time you saw them all lit up?

0:05:09

0:05:13

Well, it was, because it
took me a very long time,

0:05:13

0:05:16

four years to plan this
and make it happen,

0:05:16

0:05:20

when I saw all the lanterns,
you know, the reflections of

0:05:20

0:05:23

the lights on the water,
that really made me very emotional.

0:05:23

0:05:29

I nearly cried.
I said "OK, that's good enough."

0:05:29

0:05:32

Ian's lantern designs are an
expression of his cultural roots,

0:05:35

0:05:40

but since coming to the UK
he has begun another journey.

0:05:40

0:05:44

I came here about nearly
20 years now, as a student.

0:05:47

0:05:53

One day my friends took me to church
and I got very emotional.

0:05:54

0:06:01

So at the end of the sermon
the pastor said,

0:06:02

0:06:06

"Anybody want to pray,
come forward."

0:06:06

0:06:09

So I just went forward
and I did a prayer.

0:06:09

0:06:12

That changed my everything.

0:06:14

0:06:16

Chinese New Year is still
very important to me

0:06:19

0:06:22

because that's where I grew up,
it's in my blood,

0:06:22

0:06:26

but that morning that prayer
really changed my life.

0:06:26

0:06:30

The Houses of Parliament there
in all their Chinese lantern glory,

0:08:34

0:08:39

but of course London is also
famous for its marathon, which

0:08:39

0:08:43

for many people is the achievement
of a huge personal milestone.

0:08:43

0:08:47

Well, how do you fancy
running one a month?

0:08:47

0:08:50

That's what one remarkable man
has been doing,

0:08:51

0:08:54

whilst battling a life-threatening
illness. Connie caught up with him.

0:08:54

0:08:59

Ben Ashworth likes to run...

0:09:01

0:09:03

..and run...

0:09:05

0:09:07

and run.

0:09:07

0:09:08

Ben has totted up
24 marathons in 24 months.

0:09:09

0:09:14

That's an amazing
achievement in itself,

0:09:14

0:09:16

but astounding when you discover
that Ben is battling bowel cancer.

0:09:16

0:09:21

I'm here almost five years
after my diagnosis so, you know,

0:09:22

0:09:25

I really can't complain.

0:09:25

0:09:27

I think God is responsible for that.

0:09:27

0:09:30

Ben was told he had
six months to live.

0:09:30

0:09:33

Since then, in between debilitating
chemo treatments and operations,

0:09:33

0:09:37

Ben has been running to raise
money for cancer charities.

0:09:37

0:09:41

I went to meet Ben in his local park
in Preston in Lancashire,

0:09:43

0:09:47

to find out more about his
incredible achievements.

0:09:47

0:09:50

You've inspired so many people
but how would you describe yourself?

0:09:50

0:09:54

I would always say I'm just
a bloke with cancer

0:09:54

0:09:56

who runs a bit
and not even very well.

0:09:56

0:09:59

I'm not a very fast runner but
I just feel like I've got

0:09:59

0:10:01

the determination and grit, I think,
to sort of smash out these marathons

0:10:01

0:10:05

and there's lots of other
people that aren't able so

0:10:05

0:10:07

I just feel like I ought to do my
best to make the use of God's gifts.

0:10:07

0:10:11

Knowing that you're on limited time,

0:10:11

0:10:13

how has that affected your faith?

0:10:13

0:10:16

Has it strengthened? I mean,
looking to the future, as such,

0:10:16

0:10:19

how you feel about all of that now?

0:10:19

0:10:22

Nobody's got a cancer-free pass,
nobody can say that, you know,

0:10:22

0:10:25

I shouldn't have cancer cos
I'm young or I have this or that.

0:10:25

0:10:28

You know, cancer touches everyone,
sadly, but I think, you know,

0:10:28

0:10:33

I know that God has given me
the tools to cope with my disease.

0:10:33

0:10:37

It sounds really silly but I think
in some ways I was built for cancer.

0:10:37

0:10:41

You know, I've got a really
positive attitude towards life,

0:10:41

0:10:44

I'm always able to see, you know,
a good thing in a bad situation.

0:10:44

0:10:48

Ben's courage has been an
inspiration to his friends

0:10:48

0:10:51

and others he's encountered.

0:10:51

0:10:53

My daughter spent some time in
a wheelchair

0:10:53

0:10:56

and Ben was really inspirational,
motivational,

0:10:56

0:10:58

in telling her she could
get back running again.

0:10:58

0:11:00

Through his condition
and how ill he was,

0:11:00

0:11:03

he was still there for me
in some really dark places.

0:11:03

0:11:06

That's encouraged me to think about
my life and about

0:11:06

0:11:09

doing something myself
to increase my fitness.

0:11:09

0:11:13

He's just awesome and has just
inspired so many people around him.

0:11:13

0:11:16

Ben's wife, Louise,
and his three daughters,

0:11:16

0:11:18

one of whom is from
a previous marriage,

0:11:18

0:11:21

have helped him cope
with the devastating news,

0:11:21

0:11:23

and have always been
Ben's biggest supporters.

0:11:23

0:11:26

I was three months pregnant when
he was first diagnosed

0:11:26

0:11:29

and then by the time they'd said,
"Look, this is terminal,"

0:11:29

0:11:33

our baby was six months old.

0:11:33

0:11:35

How has your family coped?

0:11:35

0:11:37

You ride the waves with it.

0:11:37

0:11:39

There are times when it's been
difficult and then there are

0:11:39

0:11:41

times when we've just loved life.

0:11:41

0:11:43

There are times that
you can feel like

0:11:43

0:11:45

God is really far away and feel...
you feel quite alone

0:11:45

0:11:49

but I know that the times when I've
leant on him and I've gone to him

0:11:49

0:11:53

and spoken in prayer that they're
the times that I've felt strongest.

0:11:53

0:11:59

I feel like a broken record,

0:11:59

0:12:01

I do feel truly blessed to have
had them and to have the strength

0:12:01

0:12:05

that they've given me, and that's
all been possible through God.

0:12:05

0:12:09

What message do you want them
to take from all of your efforts?

0:12:09

0:12:13

That my spirit wasn't dulled,
that despite an aggressive disease,

0:12:13

0:12:18

despite, you know,
a lot of difficulties,

0:12:18

0:12:21

that my spirit endured and,
you know,

0:12:21

0:12:24

I carried on and didn't give up
and I did my very, very best.

0:12:24

0:12:27

For thousands of years people have
celebrated festivals of light,

0:15:25

0:15:29

and in the Christian calendar
this week is Candlemas,

0:15:29

0:15:32

when traditionally candles to be
used in the coming year

0:15:32

0:15:36

are carried in procession
and blessed.

0:15:36

0:15:38

It's a feast full of meaning,
which commemorates the time when

0:15:38

0:15:42

Mary and Joseph took the baby Jesus
to the temple in Jerusalem.

0:15:42

0:15:46

There they were met by
a devout elder called Simeon, who

0:15:46

0:15:51

instantly recognised and declared
Jesus to be the light of the world.

0:15:51

0:15:56

Well, those words are sung now

0:15:56

0:15:57

in the Nunc Dimittis,
which is performed for us

0:15:57

0:16:01

by Alexander Armstrong,
to a setting by Charles Stanford.

0:16:01

0:16:04

# Lord, now lettest thou thy servant

0:16:14

0:16:21

# Depart in peace

0:16:21

0:16:27

# Depart in peace

0:16:27

0:16:32

# According to thy word

0:16:32

0:16:40

# For mine eyes

0:16:40

0:16:43

# For mine eyes

0:16:43

0:16:47

# Have seen thy salvation

0:16:47

0:16:54

# Which thou hast prepared

0:16:54

0:16:58

# Which thou hast prepared

0:16:58

0:17:02

# Before the face of all people

0:17:02

0:17:10

# To be a light

0:17:15

0:17:19

# To lighten the Gentiles

0:17:19

0:17:25

# To be a light

0:17:27

0:17:31

# To lighten the Gentiles

0:17:31

0:17:37

# And to be the glory

0:17:37

0:17:45

# And to be the glory

0:17:45

0:17:51

# Of thy people Israel

0:17:51

0:17:57

# To be the glory

0:17:57

0:18:05

# Of thy people Israel

0:18:05

0:18:12

# Lord, now lettest

0:18:18

0:18:23

# Thou thy servant

0:18:23

0:18:30

# Depart

0:18:32

0:18:38

# In peace. #

0:18:38

0:18:44

The celebration of
Chinese New Year is

0:18:52

0:18:56

a colourful and vibrant addition
to the British calendar

0:18:56

0:18:59

and for the Chinese community
it's an important link

0:18:59

0:19:03

to their heritage, but one in five
Chinese people living the UK would

0:19:03

0:19:07

say that they're Christian, so what
does the festival mean for them?

0:19:07

0:19:12

Jackie and Holly are members of
a Chinese Pentecostal church,

0:19:14

0:19:18

and I joined them at home as they
prepare to celebrate the New Year.

0:19:18

0:19:22

Holly, thank you for letting me
join you this evening.

0:19:24

0:19:27

This is actually my first-ever
Chinese New Year celebration meal.

0:19:27

0:19:30

-Really?

-So I've no idea what to expect.

0:19:30

0:19:32

Well, my pleasure, then.

0:19:32

0:19:33

Well, we'll cook some
traditional Chinese dishes.

0:19:33

0:19:36

Well, dumplings, definitely.

0:19:36

0:19:38

Try to make it a round shape.

0:19:38

0:19:40

'Holly grew up in China, where she
was taught not to believe in God.'

0:19:41

0:19:45

Yes, this is a beautiful
crescent shape.

0:19:46

0:19:49

'In 2002, she came to the UK,
where she met her future husband,

0:19:50

0:19:55

'a Christian.'

0:19:55

0:19:56

Good job!

0:19:56

0:19:58

Really? You're very kind.

0:19:58

0:20:00

I met with Jackie,
then he said to me that,

0:20:00

0:20:04

"Do you want to come to church
with me one day?"

0:20:04

0:20:07

When I stepped in
I saw people there,

0:20:07

0:20:10

they were raising their hands
in worship.

0:20:10

0:20:12

Strange.

0:20:12

0:20:14

And you could see people weeping,

0:20:14

0:20:17

and I started to weep as well.

0:20:17

0:20:19

In school you were taught
there's no God in this world.

0:20:19

0:20:22

It sticks in your head.

0:20:22

0:20:25

My mind said to me, "Holly, what are
you doing, why are you crying?"

0:20:25

0:20:29

But my heart
was really, like, melting.

0:20:29

0:20:32

Now I know it's God's love.

0:20:32

0:20:34

He melted my heart.

0:20:34

0:20:36

So how does the way you celebrate
New Year differ

0:20:36

0:20:39

now that you're a Christian?

0:20:39

0:20:40

Our grandma, or grandparents,

0:20:40

0:20:44

-they used to worship idols.

-OK.

0:20:44

0:20:48

We know that, well, it's actually
God, he gave you everything,

0:20:48

0:20:52

and he's the provider so then
we worship God, of course,

0:20:52

0:20:58

and we share food, with fellowship
and because Chinese New Year

0:20:58

0:21:02

is all about reunion
and harmony and give thanks.

0:21:02

0:21:07

THEY ALL CHATTER

0:21:09

0:21:12

-Happy New Year!

-Happy New Year.

0:21:17

0:21:19

Happy New Year.

0:21:21

0:21:23

They do say that musical talent
can sometimes run in the family,

0:25:48

0:25:52

and our next guest certainly
seems to be proof of that.

0:25:52

0:25:55

If I said we're
going to hear from

0:25:55

0:25:57

a country and western singer now,
whose surname is Parton,

0:25:57

0:26:00

you'd probably think I was
talking about Dolly.

0:26:00

0:26:03

Well, actually, her sister Stella is
also a singer in her own right, too.

0:26:03

0:26:08

And Aled has been to meet her.

0:26:08

0:26:10

# Do your best
and show the rest... #

0:26:10

0:26:13

Dolly and Stella Parton
began performing together

0:26:13

0:26:16

as young children in the 1950s.

0:26:16

0:26:19

Six decades
and thousands of songs later

0:26:19

0:26:21

they still share the same love
of country music.

0:26:21

0:26:25

# More power to you

0:26:25

0:26:26

# Stand up and make a choice

0:26:26

0:26:29

# More power to you... #

0:26:29

0:26:32

Stella, really great to meet you.

0:26:32

0:26:34

It must have been quite
a creative family.

0:26:34

0:26:37

We were, I mean, we grew up
on a farm in the mountains of

0:26:37

0:26:39

East Tennessee so we had to make
our own entertainment and

0:26:39

0:26:43

our mother was very creative and
so was my dad and my mother would

0:26:43

0:26:46

always say, "If it doesn't hurt
anybody, go ahead and try it,"

0:26:46

0:26:49

so that's where
she gave us permission

0:26:49

0:26:51

to be as creative
as we wanted to be.

0:26:51

0:26:54

Were you brought up through faith?

0:26:54

0:26:55

Very much. My faith would have to be
the strongest part of my survival.

0:26:55

0:27:02

What do you mean by that?

0:27:02

0:27:04

Well, I think that if you lose hope
then you have lost everything

0:27:04

0:27:07

and I became a Christian
by the time I was five.

0:27:07

0:27:11

I remember praying and saying
prayers for healing

0:27:11

0:27:13

for different family members and
things of this sort by the time

0:27:13

0:27:17

I was five so, to me,
I've always been a Christian.

0:27:17

0:27:21

I don't know what it would be like
not to know

0:27:21

0:27:24

a relationship with Jesus.

0:27:24

0:27:26

'Stella spends her time performing
and sharing her faith

0:27:29

0:27:32

'in concerts around the US,

0:27:32

0:27:33

'but for the last decade she's
been creating an album with her

0:27:33

0:27:36

'own versions of Dolly's songs, as
a personal tribute to her sister.'

0:27:36

0:27:40

You've been performing
all your life,

0:27:40

0:27:43

-I think you've released something
like 31 albums.

-Yes.

0:27:43

0:27:46

Why now this one?

0:27:46

0:27:48

I think of it as paying respect
to her contribution

0:27:48

0:27:53

and I love her songwriting
and this is my contribution

0:27:53

0:27:58

and my expression of love to her.

0:27:58

0:28:02

What did you say when you
first mentioned the idea to her?

0:28:02

0:28:06

She loved the idea. As a matter
of fact, she kind of kept asking

0:28:06

0:28:09

about it because
I might not finished it.

0:28:09

0:28:11

She said, "I thought you were
working on an album of my songs?"

0:28:11

0:28:15

So, I said,
"Well, I'm working on it."

0:28:15

0:28:16

-You do a great impression of her,
by the way.

-I'm pretty good.

0:28:16

0:28:20

Tell us about the song that
you're going to perform for us.

0:28:22

0:28:26

Keep On Walking
is a song that I wrote,

0:28:26

0:28:28

it's on my Testimony album,
I just felt like it was

0:28:28

0:28:31

a good one to sing at church
and I just thought it was

0:28:31

0:28:34

a good story about, you know,
Scripture, you know,

0:28:34

0:28:37

keeping the faith, you know,
just keep the faith.

0:28:37

0:28:41

Just keep on going and you have to
go through the door,

0:28:41

0:28:44

you know, see what's on the other
side of the door.

0:28:44

0:28:47

# Peter stepped into the water

0:28:49

0:28:51

# On the Sea of Galilee

0:28:51

0:28:54

# Jesus said to Peter

0:28:54

0:28:57

# You can come to me

0:28:57

0:29:00

# Peter cried to Jesus

0:29:00

0:29:02

# Can't you see I'm sinkin' down?

0:29:02

0:29:05

# Jesus said to Peter

0:29:05

0:29:08

# I'm not going to let you drown

0:29:08

0:29:10

# Keep your eyes on me

0:29:12

0:29:14

# Keep a-walkin' on in faith

0:29:14

0:29:17

# Step-by-step believing

0:29:17

0:29:20

# I won't let you lose your way

0:29:20

0:29:22

# Don't you let nobody stop you

0:29:22

0:29:25

# No matter what you think you see

0:29:25

0:29:28

# You gotta keep on walkin'

0:29:28

0:29:31

# And keep your eyes on me

0:29:31

0:29:33

# The disciples got so worried

0:29:40

0:29:43

# When the storm was all around

0:29:43

0:29:45

# But the Lord kept
right on sleeping

0:29:45

0:29:48

# He did not hear a sound

0:29:48

0:29:51

# The disciples started shouting

0:29:51

0:29:53

# Lord, do something if you will

0:29:53

0:29:56

# The Lord stretched out
his gentle hand

0:29:56

0:29:59

# And he said, peace, be still

0:29:59

0:30:02

# Keep your eyes on me

0:30:02

0:30:05

# Keep a-walkin' on in faith

0:30:05

0:30:08

# Step-by-step believing

0:30:08

0:30:11

# I won't let you lose your way

0:30:11

0:30:14

# Don't you let nobody stop you

0:30:14

0:30:16

# No matter what you think you see

0:30:16

0:30:19

# You gotta keep on walkin'

0:30:19

0:30:22

# And keep your eyes on me

0:30:22

0:30:26

# You gotta wade into the water

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# Lose the fear that
you might drown

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# Walk out on the water

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# As if it was dry ground

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# Keep your eyes on me

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# Keep a-walkin' on in faith

0:30:39

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# Step-by-step believing

0:30:42

0:30:45

# I won't let you lose your way

0:30:45

0:30:47

# Don't you let nobody stop you

0:30:47

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# No matter what you think you see

0:30:50

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# You gotta keep on walkin'

0:30:53

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# And keep your eyes on me

0:30:55

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# You gotta keep on

0:30:59

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# Keep on

0:31:02

0:31:03

# Keep on walkin'

0:31:03

0:31:05

# Keep your eyes on

0:31:05

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# Keep on, keep on, keep on walking

0:31:07

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# Keep your eyes on me

0:31:12

0:31:16

# Peter stepped into the water

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# On the Sea of Galilee. #

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Next week we're in Hampshire at
the home of novelist Jane Austen,

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to celebrate the life and writing
of this clergyman's daughter.

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But our final hymn today is
one by Charles Wesley -

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Christ, Whose Glory Fills The Skies.

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A fitting way to mark
new beginnings.

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Josie d'Arby celebrates Chinese New Year at a magic lantern festival and we meet Stella Parton, sister of Dolly, who shows that musical talent and faith run in the family. Plus a performance of the Nunc Dimittis from Alexander Armstrong.

1.Let All the World in Every Corner Sing from St-Martin-in-the-Fields, London
2.Christ Be Our Light from All Saints Church, Cheltenham
3.Great Is Thy Faithfulness from New Community Church, Southampton
4.Nunc Dimittis performed by Alexander Armstrong and the Royal Holloway Chapel Organist and Choir
5.10 000 Reasons (Bless The Lord) performed by Steve Thompson
6.Keep On Walkin' performed by Stella Parton
7.Christ, Whose Glory Fills The Skies from Trinity Church, Gosforth.